The fresh graduates of the Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management (AQ&FM), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) have been inducted into the Professional Membership of the Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON) with a charge to maintain good attitude wherever they go.

Addressing the inducted graduates, FISON National President, Dr. Lukmon Agbabiaka, represented by Dr. Lekan Oguntade, urged the new experts to be good ambassadors of their profession.

According to the President, FISON is the umbrella body of all aqua-culturists, with its bill presently before the President for accent.

He noted that in the coming years, to become a FISON members will require one writing exam and payment of certain fee.

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Oguntade also explained the opportunities that abound in being a professional member of FISON to the newly inducted graduates.

Addressing the gathering, the FISON state Chairman, Prof  Samuel Obasa noted that the tradition of holding induction is not new.

Appreciating the National Office, Past and Present Executives and the students at large, Obasa said that obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Aquaculture and Fisheries Management is no mean feat for the students and thedepartment at large.

Obasa tasked the students not to disappoint themselves and the Profession as a whole, noting that they have arrays of opportunities as aqua-culturists.

Hidden hunger occurs when people do not get all the vitamins and minerals they need over a time, despite consuming sufficient calories. Experts are calling for the addition of vitamins and minerals to crops to help improve lives of Nigerians, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

In Nigeria and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, micronutrient deficiencies are common in poor and rural areas, due to over-farmed, depleted soils and restricted diets. This has put adults and children at risk from infection and developmental problems.

Agriculture experts said micronutrient-deficient in the population could  lead to weakened immune systems and thyroid problems.

They said there was the need to adequately address hidden hunger, described as micronutrient -deficient. The event held in Lagos with the theme: Crop nutrition in addressing the challenges in plant growth, yield formation and human hutrition.

The workshop was meant to train agriculture reporters on a more informed approach to reporting plant and soil nutrition.

A professor of Plant Nutrition, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey, Ismail Cakmak, said: “Hidden hunger is lack of vitamins and minerals in food; so even when you eat, you still lack basic nutrients required by your body, to fight diseases and other foreign agents.

Cakmak who spoke on: Food crops for improving food and nutrition security, said micronutrient deficiency referred to as “hidden hunger,” affects people who don’t get enough of the crucial vitamins and minerals  such as vitamin A, iodine, zinc, calcium and folate.

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He said serious concerns remained about the nutrition and health situation throughout Nigeria and the rest of the developing world.

He said an estimated 800 million people  still go hungry and while two billion people also suffer from hidden hunger, that is, deficiencies of essential vitamins and minerals, which are associated with a number of negative health and economic impacts.

Cakmak said Nigeria lost $1.5 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

He said scaling up core micro nutrient interventions would cost less than $188 million yearly.

“There is a link between nutrition and infection; if nutrition is adequate, infection will not be present. That will reduce pathogenic attacks on plants and immunity and stunted growth in humans.”

He said one solution for tackling hidden hunger is to unite agriculture and nutrition to improve the health and livelihoods of smallholder farming families.

He stressed the need to encourage biofortification, including supporting improvement of micronutrient content of crops through conventional breeding and adding of micronutrients to fertiliser.

He also said there the was need to strengthen the knowledge on the relevance of proper plant nutrition for plant growth.

Cakmak said an optimal mineral fertilisation of plants is also required to produce more nutritious food, especially with micronutrients and protein.

He also emphasised efficient use of fertiliser, adding that low use could expose crop plants to pathogen and pest attack.

While there should be emphasis on soil test, soil maps and other geospatial methods for efficient and effective use of fertiliser and identification of suitable formulations, Cakmak noted that attention should be paid to leaf tissue analyses for effective use of fertiliser.

The expert expressed interest in projects to enhance productivity across  entire agricultural value chain, beginning on the farm and extending to when products reach consumers.

To this end, he has partnered with other experts  in projects  and programmes to increase yields by providing growers with critical information on the development of crops across the world.

The Managing Director, OCP Africa, Mr.  Mohammed Hettiti, said his organisation supports capacity building for reporters to help improve agriculture reporting.

He said it had become pertinent to properly report human nutrition and soil nutrients as well as crop micro nutrient requirements.

The Head of Agronomy, OCP Africa, Mr. Aniss Bouraqqadi stressed that the prominent position of agriculture  with its enormous opportunities to create wealth, jobs and enhance livelihoods. He said the workshop was to build a ‘comments discussion room’ to share developments in human nutrition.

He stressed the need for partnerships, collaboration and networking and particularly public-private partnerships that will not only ensure that technologies reach farmers and stimulate innovation but also encourage growth of agriculture as a business, nurture private sector growth, which will, in turn, growing interest and employment opportunities.

Bouraqqadi said collaboration was  key to ensuring good nutrition for all, even in the face of climate challenges.

He said OCP international is focused on educating growers to enhance crop yield through improved agronomy practices.

Through its Agribooster programme, he said farmers  were  exposed   to different approaches to agronomy, planting, settings and usage affect growth and yield.

He said it was a major initiative designed to boost agricultural productivity by rapidly delivering proven technologies to tens of millions of farmers to enhance their productivity.

He said OCP is developing fertiliser that are specific to the needs of African soils and crops, as well as locally-appropriate service models for African farmers to have reliable, affordable access to these inputs and related products.”

He said his organisation was ready to partner universities and research institutions to strengthen research capacity to meet the challenge of access to nutritious food for the growing population.

In Ogun State, farmers have been using organic farming methods, without  applying chemical fertiliser, pesticides and herbicides. This has enabled them to benefit from lucrative overseas and local markets.

One of them is the Chief Executive, Extralarge farms, Seyi Davids. Xtralarge Farms is located at Sango Ota, Ogun State. Its workers cultivate various crops. The farm has become a model of sustainable small-scale agriculture providing many benefits: jobs, local communities with access to diversified and affordable food. Nearly all food is organic.

There is also a school for farmers to learn about crop production, pest management, business management and rural entrepreneurship. The transformation has been made possible by a series of private investments. His approach to organic farming is to break addiction to pesticides.

He follows the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model, where consumers buy meat and vegetables from producers.

He is concerned about the widespread environmental damage, such as soil erosion, being caused by chemical-reliant farming practices. While the agricultural industry gorged itself on chemical use in order to increase and maintain food output to sustain a growing population, Davids was bothered that the environment, and, ultimately, that the consumer will pay the price.  As a result, his farm prides itself on natural alternatives to synthetic pesticides.

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Davids advised Nigerians on the need to consume food produce grown organically to avoid diseases and sicknesses associated with consuming farm produce grown with chemicals.

When he started he faced difficult times. This did not  deter the entrepreneurial spirit of Davids  and his wife, Moji Davids,  who took life as a challenge to face all odds in order to restore the  economic  liberty  for  himself  and  his  fellow  beings.  He    has  worked  relentlessly to  establish  his  venture  in Ogun State  by  harnessing  the  potential  of  organic agriculture.

Working with the project team, they sell their produce throughout the year without worrying about market fluctuations.

He decided to open a farm school  to help the farming community and would-be investors  besides  creating  a  good  business  opportunity  for  himself .

Davids and his wife, Moji seek to grow the organic movement and foster a productive, resilient, sustainable and healthy agriculture city.  They  aim to develop and encourage organic farming through different projects as well as encouraging Nigerians to cultivate, as far as possible and without the use of any chemical product, vegetables in their backyard for their own consumption.

The launch of Xtralarge Farms Agritech City is part of a campaign to encourage and enable the population to use the organic method of cultivation.

According to him, the Agritech City, established on 3,000 acres of land in Ogun, would harbour universities and schools, travel and tours, homes and properties, natural health centre and micro-finance bank, among others.

Davids said the city would be fully an automated organic farm and made ready in June 2021, stressing that agriculture was the future of Nigeria’s economy and should be made competitive which was why people under the Xtralarge were together to empower more people in the food network of the country.

“Agritech City is a technology driven city to attract the youth who want to see how good agriculture is and that is what prompted the establishment of the city,” he explained.

It is farm estate that would not only boost food production but provide employment to millions of the nation’s jobless youths.

He explained that aside from providing employment and food in abundance, the farms would become a major revenue earner for investors.

 

At Xtralarge Farms, according to him, anybody can become a farmer without necessarily getting involved in farming process.

To get started in AgriTech City, he said one must have an xtratoken, a digital currency. “The Xtratoken is what the entire Xtralarge group refers to as the generation next. It is the money to be spent within the Agritech City. He said a buyer could hold a minimum of one token which costs 100 dollars and a maximum of 100 tokens costing 10,000 dollars, adding that an outsider who wished buy a token could do so via the website: www.xtratoken.com.

His words: “The city has come with a change of apparel for agriculture in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. A farmer must be able to live well, be successful, live a dignified life and be respected in the society. “This is exactly what the Xtralarge Agritech City is all about. An agricultural city where all manner of farming activities and projects are executed with the aid of advanced technology and machineries, thereby ensuring food sustainability in our continent, improving our economic account and providing employment for many,” he added.

He also said there was need for Nigerians to adopt organic living, meaning the consumption of organic food and products, stressing that eating such would improve the health of human, animals and their environment, adding that organic farming would help to keep the country’s biodiversity.

The National Cashew Association of Nigeria Publicity Secretary, Mr. Sotonye Anga, has said the continuous crash of commodity prices in the global market has had a huge impact on the Nigerian cashew sector. Many exporters, he said, have been forced  to hold excess stocks of raw cashew nuts bought at a time when prices were more favourable.

Anga told The Nation that cashew sells for below  $1,000 per metric tonne (MT), signaling 34 per cent drop in price from last year.

Last year, the price of raw cashew nuts fell by 50 per cent from N600, 000 ($1,666) per metric tonne in April to about N300, 000 ($833) in July. In 2017, a metric tonne was bought at the rate of N600,000.

Since the commencement of the 2019 cashew season, exporters have been unable to meet up with their contractual agreements entered into on the back of a worsening Apapa and Tin Can traffic situation as well as the slow clearing process at the port.

Cashew nut farmers in the country have lost approximately N99 billion since the commencement of production this year.

The farmers produce about 220,000 metric tonnes of cashew nuts yearly. This year, however, the cost plummeted to N150,000 per tonne. The figure implies that they lose N450,000 on every tonne sold. Multiplied by 220,000 metric tonnes, the farmers are set back by a staggering N90billion.

Anga noted that persistent downward prices of cashew had in turn resulted in supply glut in producing countries, including Nigeria.

He lamented the lack of investment and interest from financial institutions in the sector, which he described as capital intensive.

He stressed the need to increase investment in cashew processing to add value to the cashew value chain.

He is, however, optimistic about reaping from the industry this year, adding that high yielding cashew seedlings had been planted in Kwara, Oyo and Cross River states. According to him, investors acquired 500 hectares of farmland in Calabar, Cross River State and commenced the planting of hybrid cashew seedlings.

He said: “We need to grow the next generation of cashew that will make Nigeria great. The good thing with cashew is that once it gets to maturity in four years, for the next 45 years, it will continue to produce fruits.

“The cashew trees that are currently in existence were planted between 1950 and 1970 and the average lifespan of a cashew tree is 50 years. The ones in existence are more than 50 years and if something is not done about this, we may wake up one day to know that cashew trees are no longer yielding fruits.’’

Globally, demand for cashew is huge at three million metric tonnes and the global production is 1.9 million metric tonnes.

The Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) has advised farmers and cashew nuts merchants to prioritise local processing over export of raw nuts.

According to the council, this will add value to the crop’s value chain, and boost earnings. Nigeria currently exports 95per cent of its raw cashew nuts, leaving only an abysmal five per cent for local processing and consumption. This is because there are very few factories that process the crop in the country.

Nigeria’s cashew is usually harvested between February and June, though farmers stock the crop and export it all year round.

A fertiliser company, OCP Africa, is partnering Bank of Agriculture (BoA) to generate employment for low-income people in rural areas, writes DANIEL ESSIET reports.

A fertiliser company, OCP Africa, is partnering Bank of Agriculture (BoA) to increase opportunities for enhancing maize for food, feed, nutrition and environmental security in the country. It also exploring ways to generate employment for low-income people in rural areas.

its Country Director in Africa, Mr. Caleb Usoh said OCP is determined to enhance the agribusiness sector by lifting the incomes and skills of farmers through its agribooster initiative. The initiative works across the supply chain to connect farmers with quality input, financing and insurance, aside providing comprehensive training on proper input use that would increase crop yields and farmers’ income.

Under the deal, Usoh said the company will work with BoA and Novus Agro to facilitate the provision of resources, training, extension service and market access for smallholder farmers.

Usoh explained that the agreement  signed in Lagos with BoA and Novus, was for the establishment of a pilot Agribooster Initiative scheme in the Southwest for the empowerment of 1000 farmers in Iseyin in Oyo State to participate in maize farming.

He said the importance of maize has grown rapidly and there was  need to keep up with ever-increasing and competing demands for food, feed and industry needs through increased production.

He said OCP’s continued investment in research for agricultural development is required to ensure future maize production can meet demand in Nigeria.

According to him, constraints to maize production and productivity exacerbates the pressure to meet demand, further emphasising the need for improved technologies and management practices.

He said the company will supply high quality fertiliser, training and extension services to farmers that have been enumerated and registered within communities within the area.

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He said 5,000 smallholder maize farmers participated in the trial phase of the  initiative in Kaduna State and their productivity increased by 41 per cent. He added that the success made his company to extend the project to rice farmers in Kebbi State, where it is supporting 4,000 smallholder farmers in Suru, Argungu and Birnin Kebbi regions of the state.

This year, the company is investing $2.350million to develop the country’s agriculture sector through its various projects. Through the projects, which include OCP School Lab, OCP Agribooster, One Stop Shop, and others, the organisation is targeting about 200,000 farmers.

BoA Executive Director, South, Olabode Abikoye said the bank is partnering OCP Africa to give farmers across the nation new technologies to transform agricultural production.

He said maize is a short-term crop and needs further promotion to encourage youth participation in agriculture.

He said tremendous opportunities exist for innovations in maize farming precision agriculture, seed systems, and value chains, adding that the partnership with OCP Africa   offers exciting prospect for future growth and development of maize in the Southwest.

He said the partnership will focus on how to enhance farmers’ access to high-yielding, climate-resilient and quality seeds, along with climate-smart agronomic management practices.

Abikoye said the bank  is committed to providing loans to farmers.

Novus Agro Chief Executive Chike Nwagwu said the organisation will  offer youths the incentives to get involved in the agri-food system.

He said each farmer would receive fertiliser, improved seedlings and herbicides.